ABOUTfalacos

Peace, love and balls

“What’s uh… Falacos?” people ask. LOL… They don't have a CLUE what Falacos is, and that's to be expected… cuz it's a made up word that was born in our kitchen: )

Falacos is a food truck truck serving up falafel in tacos. Falacos are falafel, a unique hummus, with a topping and sauces - each one different. Ever had falafel? You’ve never tasted THIS falafel before. : ) We have several different falacos to choose from, each one with our famous falafel balls and a variety of other yummy taco fillins. I’m tellin ya.. You want these balls in your mouth!

Falacos Founders

Courtney & Ben Weidner

Vegans

Carnivores

Thanksgiving, 2013. After a weekend of stuffing ourselves silly, piles of meat and all things dairy and butter and sugar and pies, oh my, the PIES... we settled in on the couch and started watching some documentaries on Netflix about our food. Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead was the first of many. Joe Cross, you were a catalyst for this whole thing I'll have you know. Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead - that movie hit us HARD. I was amazed by the amount of weight that could be lost if someone flooded their body with juices. My husband Ben and I went out that weekend and got a Breville juicer and started our detox. We almost made the mistake of just diving off into juicing. Thankfully, we heeded Joe's advice and spent a week coming off of caffeine, sugar and meat. Then, the juice experimentation began.

Other documentaries we've watched that contributed to our awakening about food include:

In one movie, they showed a heart surgery and the surgeon pulled a long booger of plaque from someone's artery. Meat... all the meat Ben has eaten for years and he's suffered from high blood pressure and high cholesterol. All that sugar and processed food causing chronic inflammation in his entire body, including the artery walls and subsequent plaque build up... it was enough. A switch got flipped. We weren't just doing a juice fast anymore... Our vegan lifestyle began.

As the foodies we are, we LOVE experimenting in the kitchen and discovering new flavor combinations. Ben can follow a recipe and it turn out absolutely perfect. I have a knack for re-purposing left overs and combining random pantry/fridge items into delicious creations. Between the two of us, we fell in love with the vegan life. It was a new art medium and a challenge. :) We knew we wanted to have a vegan and GF food truck and were working on coming up with a signature item. One night we were experimenting with some falafel recipes and how it could be served. Ben put some falafel in a corn tortilla and said “it’s falafel, in a taco... it’s a FALACO.” And Falacos was born.

Ben Weidner is my inspiration for Falacos, y'all. I couldn't believe the transformation that took place - Benny lost 70 pounds in only 4 months. At the beginning of December when we started juicing, he weighed 268. By the beginning of April, he was down to 198. Incredible! And this was with very little exercise - no gym, no mad workout routine, only some push ups every day. He was 70 pounds down, just from changing his lifestyle and how he eats. After a couple 5 day juice fasts, the routine became juice for breakfast, juice for lunch, snack of some nuts or hummus, a vegan dinner, lots of water all day long and no more processed food. This wasn't a phase or a diet - it was a life changer. Oh yeah, and he got off all his high blood pressure and cholesterol medications, too. :)

(**Update: As of July, 2015, Ben has maintained his weight at 195-200 lbs and his unmedicated blood pressure is now an amazing 110/70. A plant based diet healed his heart!)

As for me, I learned I am somewhat sensitive to gluten... too much, and I get low, kinda depressed. It always happened after beer or too much pasta. Ben’s dad was diagnosed with celiac disease so it made sense for us to start avoiding gluten in our recipes. I haven't had any red meat or foul since Thanksgiving 2013 and I don't plan on eating it ever again. Don't need it; don't even want it... especially now that I know where it comes from and how it's processed. I finally came to my own personal conclusion that if I don't have the balls to kill an animal myself, then I'm not gonna eat it.

I had this attitude for 3 years but kept eating seafood because I’d been fishing before and said I would again… until a September 2016 vacation when we went on a chartered fishing trip. I was still detached from the process of killing and cleaning the fish – the captain did it for me. When I reflected on whether or not I would really be willing to do the dirty work myself, I knew the answer and said goodbye to seafood.

On this same vacation, we finished reading the book Proteinaholic by Dr. Garth Davis. It was MINDBLOWING. Dr. Davis compiled tons of research from all over the world and his findings were very eye opening. Think you need animal protein to have a complete diet? I invite you to read this book!

My transformation to a whole food plant based lifestyle has taken a few years and I will admit, I still have my weaknesses. I’m not the healthiest vegan in the world, I still struggle with processed sugar. I know the risk I'm taking when I eat things like sugar or GMOs and I take full responsibility for my results. I consider my eating habits to be 100x better than they used to be. I want people to know who I really am... I'm just a real person that woke up to my personal responsibility about what I put in my body and I want to help others by bringing them a healthier and hella tasty alternative.

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We appreciate your questions and feedback. When you tell us how we can better serve you, we can get right on it. :) Thanks for your continued support of our award-winnin balls!

the falacosSTORY : )

Falacos is a place where people can always find delicious food that is safe and non-GMO. Falacos promises to be honest and open about the food we serve, where it comes from and who you can call if you have questions. We're all about transparency with our ingredients and I want folks to have the answers they seek about all our produce suppliers, brands of GF flours, spices, etc. Every resource we use is available, just ask. I truly believe there is a shift happening in this country. People are wanting to know why we are all so sick in America, why there are such high rates of cancer and heart disease and diabetes... and we are finding out the answer was right there on our plates, this whole time. Falacos is the new world of fast food. Y’all get ready!

falacosMISSION

REAL FOOD, REAL NUTRITION

OURingredients

WE LOVE NUTS

First things first - WARNING STUFF - we have NUTS of all kinds! Like all kinds of nuts...if you have allergies of ANY kind please let us know so we can talk to you about what to eat. Here is a helpful link to allergy friendly restaurants www.allergyeats.com.

WE USE SUNFLOWER OIL

WE ARE GLUTEN FREE

Adios, gluten, you ain't welcome here! Falacos is a GLUTEN FREE FOOD TRUCK, but not (yet) certified. We wanted to create a safe place for all those with gluten allergies to eat and not have to worry about cross contamination.

Everything on our truck is documented to be sure - no wheat or other gluten ingredients are included - we always strive to use certified gluten free products and you can verify those on our ingredients list.

When my husband was on his quest for health, we realized it was pretty impossible to find a selection of vegan options at most restaurants. Vegetarian, sure - but not vegan. Everything has butter, cheese and meat in Texas. Ever notice that? Check out a menu next time you're out. Unless you get a salad, everything healthy at most restaurants has meat and cheese. Sometimes the green salad too! Bacon, eggs, cheese - all in salads! Even bacon in salad dressings!!! Just can't get away from it - unless I wanna eat at home, which was the only way to know I'm getting a LEGIT TRUE vegan meal. We saw a need....surely we weren't the only family out there with this problem....and restaurants are missing a whole group of people to feed....

Some might think I'm ballsy to open a vegan food truck in Montgomery County, Texas.... and they'd be right!!! : )

This truck has balls - the most yummiest vegan & GF balls you've ever had....and you want these balls in your mouth!!!

We understand some folks have severe sentisitivies to dairy and eggs and if that's you, we're happy to serve you delicious food that won't upset your body.

GALACTOSEMIA

LACTOSE INTEROLANT

SINUS IRRITATION

DAIRY & EGG FREE

We are vegan (see below) and that means NO DAIRY & NO EGGS.

Is this you?

ORGANIC & NON-GMO

Here's the deal, disclaimer and lesson on 'organic' and 'non-GMO' ingredients. 'Organic' refers to the method of how something is grown, and what pesticides & herbicides are used. GMO is an acronym for 'genetically modified organisms.'

Have you heard about all these GMOs in the news? Did you know we're eating genetically modified food and have no idea because labeling isn't required? Certified organic products are not supposed to contain GMOs...but they don't test for it. 'Non-GMO Project Verified' labels mean the product contains less than 0.9% GMOs which is verified through testing.

Not a fan of the GMO's yall --- not at all. I personally love science but I have a big problem with splicing species and turning our plants into Franken-plants. Just don't seem natural...I don't think our bodies were designed to ingest things man created or altered...so, because this is my personal conviction, Falacos will stand by this. We don't support GMO's and don't want to feed them to you....so as much as we can help it, we won't.

Falacos is as organic and non-GMO as we can be. It is our dream to someday be 100% certified organic and non-GMO. It takes time and money, but this is SOOOO important to me ya'll - you have no idea. I am inspired by this amazing restaurant: http://www.amysdrivethru.com. Until then, know this....we promise to use certified organic ingredients in everything we can and we'll always be transparent ..... AND, we will always look for and use the Non-GMO Project Verified label whenever we can find it.

That being said - there are some ingredients in only a few of our menu items that are not 'certified organic.' These include (but not limited to): Sriracha, Liquid Smoke, Mango Chutney, & Sunflower Oil.

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL

FARMER'S MARKET !!!!

Check out our calendar and download our app to see where we'll be and come out to support these local Farmer's Markets. These local businesses are the cornerstone of both our health and our communities. #shopsmall #shopsmallbusiness #shoplocal #supportsmallbusiness

FOODIES

Welcome !! And FEAST !!

We love experimenting and hope y'all are good with the occasional new menu item we want to try out on y'all. We promise it'll be tasty! We don't eat stuff that ain't!!!!

Peace,

Courtney

Falacos Owner, Courtney Weidner

A Free Spirit | A Lover of Life | Follows the beat of her own drum to the Max

faq

Where will you be?

Everywhere! Our home is Montgomery County and we will travel to Houston and even out of state. Check out our monthly recurring events and watch for pop-up locations added to our schedule. Download our mobile app, follow us on Facebook & Twitter for updates on new locations and events.

Can you come to me?

Yes! Hire us to cater your private event. We would love to bring our balls to your party, wedding or company event! Just let us know the number of heads, and we'll rap about a menu.

I think many vegans choose to follow a vegan lifestyle for animal rights reasons. They don't want to kill or harm or use animals for anything. Total respect and love for ALL animals.

100% vegans use ZERO animal products. Eat no meat or dairy or honey or anything from animal or insect, don't wear leather or wool or use anything with any animal products whatsoever.

Our story is different... We converted to a vegan diet for health reasons. The more we learned about the harmful impact the meat and dairy industry is having on our environment, our decision to eliminate animal products from our diet was validated even further. For us, being vegan isn't just about saving animals.. It's saving human lives and the PLANET.

What is 'gluten free' and why is it important to you??

When you see food advertised as "gluten free", that means it is free of grain ingredients containing the proteins known as "gluten". For a more technical definition, read here: www.gluten.org & www.celiac.org/live-gluten-free/glutenfreediet We have family members and friends with celiac disease and other gluten sensitivities and we've learned how gluten proteins impact some peoples' bodies - it's SERIOUS! Gluten can damage the small intestine, ultimately leading to weight loss/malabsorbtion/malnutrition, it can cause migraines, joint pain, autoimmune disorders... the list goes on. I'm a firm believer gluten is harming more people than we realize. Over the years, restaurants have started offering gluten free meals, but they are still prepared in the same kitchen where they are preparing pasta, bread, etc - all with gluten, so it may not be a safe choice for folks with celiac disease. We wanted Falacos to be a safe food establishment for our friends who keep a strict gluten free diet.